I propose to carry out research for a monograph focussed on a case study of a Taiwanese festival in which animal symbolism is particularly rich. The goal of this work will be to move beyond the study of ritual I have already done, which dealt primarily with the particulars of ethnographic data, toward certain theoretical problems in the study of ritual. The ethnographic portions of the project will be based on a detailed analysis of a Taiwanese festival, a festival that provides an opportunity for an extremely detailed study of the use of animals in ritual sacrifice. In the course of describing this festival, I will take up numerous problems involving the way animals are used by human beings for symbolic purposes in China and elsewhere. Field work to be done in Taiwan has been designed to contribute solutions to the following problems: (1) Can one justify the usual anthropological view that classification (of animals, in this case) is systematic and governed by clear rules? (2) How can we best describe people's intentions in performing magical or ritual acts? (3) On what grounds can we say that ritual or magical acts are rational or irrational?